


Make the Decision

by i_amthecosmos



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Established Relationship, Kidnapping, M/M, Protective Chad, Threatening, and Lonni, chad's parents don't treat him well, everyone insults chad at some point except ben, fight, mild violence, sword fight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-29
Updated: 2019-08-29
Packaged: 2020-09-28 23:09:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20434007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_amthecosmos/pseuds/i_amthecosmos
Summary: Gil gets kidnapped and taken back to the Isle. Chad goes after him. A sequel to my last Chad/Gil fic.





	Make the Decision

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this because I figured that Chad and Gil were dumb enough to out themselves, by accident. Because they forgot.

Chad was at what he considered a ‘mixed’ party. Meaning there were both Auradon and Isle kids at it. They had terrible movies on for background, and were drinking vodka mixed with strawberry soda, possibly the worst mixer he’d ever had.

(“It was Jay’s idea,” Mal had said when he’d asked. “I think he’s trying to see if he can literally puke rainbows.”)

The soda being disgusting didn’t stop Chad from drinking, of course. He could have a few if he wanted, nobody here would record him and put it on the internet. He was pretty sure of that. He’d always been a quiet drunk, so he wound up sitting in a corner, watching the party. Jay was doing shots and Carlos was laughing at him, Ben and Mal were showing each other things on their phones. Audrey was trying to be the center of attention. 

“Hey.” Chad smiled-it was Gil. “Nobody will play dice with me.”

“That’s because half the people in this room still owe you money,” Chad said. “Sit next to me.” 

“Okay.” Gil pulled up a chair and sat in it backward, pirate style. “It’s kind of boring.” 

“Why, because nobody is throwing bottles?” Gil liked his parties more intense than Auradon generally had.

“No bottles, no making out. And the music is weird.” Chad figured Gil must be feeling homesick today. He’d made other comments about how Auradon was too prissy. “I liked Isle music. Auradon needs more bands.” 

“Maybe so.” Gil didn’t have many ideas regarding Auradon/Isle relations, but he once brought up allowing more Isle musicians over in a meeting that Ben had organized. He made a strong case for it too, saying that Isle musicians were some of the best and knew how to perform under any conditions.

(“One time,” Gil had said at the meeting. “I saw Fizz keep playing the accordion while our ship was being attacked. It was rad!” Before he was done, Gil had gotten the other Isle kids on his side.)

“I’m sorry you think the party is boring, Gil. We can leave if you want.” 

“Okay.” Gil smiled , then leaned in. Chad met him halfway and caught Gil’s mouth in a kiss. He put a hand on the back of Gil’s neck as their tongues slid over each others.

When they pulled apart, Chad realized the room had gone entirely quiet, except for Jay, who was rolling on the floor in laughter. Also, everyone was staring a them. “Uh oh,” Chad said, looking at Gil, who was big-eyed. “Don’t worry,” he said. Chad cleared his throat. “I hope I can trust everyone here not to put pictures of this on the internet, and maybe we can just forget about it.”

“Too late,” Mal said, holding up her phone. Ben facepalmed next to her.

“You expect me to forget you tongue kissing your pirate roommate right in front of me?” Audrey was furious. “The date next week is off.” Chad cringed inside-he didn’t like her finding out this way. 

“Did anyone else know about this?” Doug looked entirely surprised. Jay, Carlos, Mal and Ben raised their hands. “Not you?” Doug said to Evie.

“No. But I suspected. We all know how Gil is.” Chad looked over at Gil, who was red and trying to hide his face. Chad knew he didn’t being talked about like he wasn’t there. He reached for Gil’s hand, but Gil shook his head.

“Okay,” Chad said, struggling to stand up but making it. “I’m dating Gil. We tried to hide it because of my family and because I didn’t want to hurt anyone. Which I just did. I’m sorry Audrey.” Audrey stared a hole through him, then looked away. _Ouch._

Chad looked around the room. “I hope you can accept this. We’re going back to our room now. See you tomorrow.” Then they both walked out of the room. Chad could hear Ben asking Mal to delete the photos. Chad knew it was too late, but he was glad Ben was thinking about him. “Jesus,” Chad whispered. “I think that went okay.” 

Gil was still red and looked upset. Chad walked with him to their room, and opened it. Gil went to the bed they didn’t use and sat on it. Chad went to wash his face-he felt how red his face was, and wanted to not be blotchy. When he came back, Gil was still looking angry. “Gil, what’s bothering you?” 

“I didn’t like that.” Gil didn’t look at him.

“What part, the others talking about you? Or was it something I did?” Chad sat on the bed next to Gil. Gil sat with his hands in his lap, not moving.

“Both.” 

“Okay.” Chad was drunk and panicking himself, but he had to try to remain patient. Gil had a tough time sometimes saying what bothered him. He just had to be patient and ask the right questions. “What did I do?” 

“You said we were dating, but we don’t go anywhere. It’s always just been the two of us in here, and then you dated Audrey. And now you were upset about Audrey.” Gil looked away. “I don’t like that.”

“Well,” Chad said. “I was upset about Audrey because I feel bad about stringing her along. And we can date now. Everyone already knows. I like Audrey. But I don’t want to date her.”

“No, because you’re still upset about your family finding out. And you did date her, so that’s not true.” Gil’s tone changed, it was actually a bit nasty. He never talked to Chad that way. Gil looked at him, and Chad could see how drunk Gil was. It was influencing his anger level for sure. “You just like to hide stuff that makes you not look like a good King. And mostly that’s me.”

Chad didn’t say anything at first. Then he tried for a winning smile. He could talk Gil down, he was sure of it. “Look. I don’t think we should talk about this now,” he said. “We’re both still drunk. I know what you mean, and we need to work on it. But can we do it tomorrow?” 

Gil stared at him. His face was dark, and Chad was reminded that Gil knew at least a dozen ways to kill a man. He thought backtracking a little might be a good idea. “Gil, I’m sorry, I just think we should talk when we’re sober. I don’t want us to say something we might regret,” he said, and reached for Gil’s hand. 

Gil flinched away. “You just did,” Gil said. He got up, swaying, and walked out of the room. 

“Shit,” Chad said, alone in his room. He sent texts to both Jay and Carlos, figuring that Gil would go to their room to cool off. He knew he should try to find him. But he was drunk and a little upset, and anyway, Gil just probably needed some time.

Then Chad slumped back on Gil’s bed and fell asleep.

…

Gil left the dorm room, going outside in the cool air. He was mad, so mad. He wasn’t even sure why, because he wanted other people to know. But Chad just thought about how it effected him, as always. Jay was right, at least a little. Chad only thought about himself.

A swim. He needed a swim. That would help. He headed out in the direction of the Enchanted Lake. It wasn’t an ocean, but it would do. He walked down the path to the water, removing his shirt as he went. 

He heard a snicker behind him before it all went black. 

…

The next day Chad woke up with a mild hangover. He drank two bottles of water and took some headache pills, then checked his phone. No messages from Gil, but that wasn’t unusual. He could write okay but he often forgot how to send texts. He wasn’t very good at tech. Carlos was trying to tutor him.

Chad sighed. Maybe Carlos knew where Gil was. He sent a text but didn’t get a reply. Chad hoped that Gil would be back soon. They really did need to talk it out. 

But now, he needed to nap a little more.

…

Gil woke up and didn’t know where he was at first, which scared him. Then he knew exactly where he was, and he was scared even more. He struggled, but he was tied up, and in his old bunk on the ship. 

“Look who’s back.” Gil started. Harry was suddenly right in front of his face. “You were easy to catch. Your reflexes aren’t what they used to be.”

“How did you get me?” 

“We found a way,” Harry said in a sing-song voice. “We missed you. You left us, betrayed us, but we decided we wanted you back anyway. Didn’t you miss us, Gil?”

Gil struggled against the bonds. “Yeah, but...”

“Good. Then we can forget this ever happened.” Uma appeared out of the darkness of the underside of the ship. She looked imposing and scary, even though he was a lot taller in her. So the same, really. “Aren’t you ready to go back to work, instead of school? It’s never been your strong suite.”

“Hey. I was doing better.” Gil didn’t care for the insult. “They were tutoring me. I was playing sports. I was doing all right.” 

Harry got closer then, and brushed his hook over Gil’s face. “But is that really you?” Harry smiled. “It’s not. They were trying to tame you, make you into a little pet Isle boy, that they could push around. And we heard about that Prince who made you his boy toy. Aren’t you glad to be away from him?”

Gil didn’t say anything, but he thought _No_.

…

“So nobody’s seen Gil?” Chad was standing in Jay and Carlos’s room, trying to figure out what could have happened to him. “He never came by?”

“We told you that already,” Jay said. Jay was still in bed in a fetal position, nursing a massive hangover. “And lower your voice, asshole.” 

“Sorry,” Chad whispered. “I’m just worried.” Carlos got up then, and put on his jacket.

“Let’s go look for him,” he said, and clapped Chad on the arm. “Where do you think he would have gone?”

“Well, since he’s not here...” Chad had to think about it. “Hey, maybe he’s at the lake. He likes to swim when he’s upset about something. Maybe he fell asleep outside. Or maybe he drowned!” The idea hit him like a shot, and he started running down the hall.

“Chad! He probably didn’t drown!” Carlos was on his heels. “Chad! He’s a great swimmer, he knows what he’s doing!”

“But he was drunk! And mad at me!” Carlos’s eyes widened. “I know, I didn’t want to say it, but he was. We had a fight.” Chad took a deep breath. “We have to find him. If he’s hurt it’s my fault.” Then he kept going, slowing down to a fast walk. Carlos caught up with him, and thankfully didn’t say anything more.

When they got to the Enchanted Lake, Chad looked all around. Gil wasn’t there. He was nowhere to be found, just gone. “I don’t understand. I thought he’d be here for sure.” Then Chad saw some boot prints that looked like Gil’s, at the same time that Carlos came over. “What-oh God.”

Carlos’s face was white, and he had Gil’s shirt. Carlos silently pointed to a note on it.

_We have him back_

…

Within fifteen minutes, Carlos had organized a meeting in Chad’s room. Ben, Mal, Lonni, Evie and Jay (still sick as a dog) were all there. Carlos stood in front of all of them, and showed them the shirt. “Okay, Gil’s been kidnapped. And I’m fairly sure it was by Uma and Harry.” He showed everyone the note.

“Should we get the police involved?” Ben said. “Maybe they can help us.”

Mal glared at him. “Nope, they won’t care what happened to a pirate. If he’s back on the Isle, then he’s not their problem anymore. Also they have no jurisdiction on the Isle.” 

“Yes they do, the Isle is part of the kingdom.” But Ben looked like he knew that it was hopeless. “Okay, so what do we do?” 

“I have to get him back,” Chad said. He could feel his hands shaking, he was so desperate. “It’s my fault. We argued, that’s how they got to him. We have to go the Isle and get him back.” 

“Good luck,” Jay said from his place on the floor.

“We can’t let Chad go by himself,” Lonni said. “He can’t take on a whole pirate ship.” 

“I’d be fun to see him try,” Mal deadpanned. 

Chad took a deep breath. “Okay, I get it. I’m an annoying asshole and I’m in no place to ask for favors. I’ve been a jerk to nearly everyone in this room.” He paused, but nobody argued. “But, I need Gil back. I haven’t always treated him right, but he means so much to me. Please, help me.” 

“You love him.” Carlos stared at Chad like he’d never seen him before.

Chad nodded, wiping a tear. “Yeah. I have to go get him, if he’ll have me back. I can’t do this alone. And if you can’t do it for me, do it for Gil. I don’t think he wants to go back.” 

“Okay,” Ben said. “Like last time. We go there and see if we can’t get Gil back. Do you think they’ll bargain for him?”

Mal shook her head. “I don’t think so. There’s no ransom. Uma probably thinks that Gil is hers. She’s very protective of her pirates. Of course she’d want him back. I don’t know if she’ll take anything for him.” Mal stood in front of Chad, and put a hand on his arm. The fact that Mal was trying to break something to him gently was enough to freak him out. “I don’t want to tell you this, but she’ll fight hard to keep him. And try to make him not want to come back.” 

Chad thought about what Gil had told him, his relationship with Uma and Harry. He nodded. “I still have to try,” he said, his voice cracking. “If you help me, I’ll be in your debt.” 

“Be careful saying that, dude.” Jay had sat up, holding his head. “Someone give me some coffee. Lonni, you still have your swords hidden from FG?” 

“She never suspects me.” Lonnie’s smile was innocent. Chad was glad she was on his side. Carlos started a pot of coffee, Ben was on the phone to get a limo, and he took a deep breath. Then he felt a hand on his arm.  
“Evie?” She nodded at him. 

“Come with me. Time for your Isle makeover.” 

…

Gil didn’t have much to do in his bunk. The other pirates seemed to be out for the day for some reason. He was tied up, and it was uncomfortable. “Harry?” He said. “Take me back, please. I don’t want to be here.”

“Nonsense,” Harry said from his seat. He’d been set to watch over Gil. “We wanted you back, and you’re going to stay. You just ran out on us. You didn’t even give us a proper goodbye, just waved over your shoulder. Now, don’t you see how that hurt our feelings? Can’t you see how-” Gil flinched as Harry kicked the seat away- “Disrespectful that was?!”

Gil didn’t say anything. Harry might decide to punish him for talking back. Harry took that as an invitation, and came closer. “See, we always kept you closer than the other pirates. Didn’t we?” Gil nodded. “I thought you understood how special that made you. But next thing we know, you’re gone. And then, we heard you were in the bed of that _idiot_ rich bastard, Chad. Really Gil? Don’t you have standards?” 

“Who told you?” Gil said. “Nobody knew until last night.” That wasn’t true. Jay and Carlos knew, Mal did. But they wouldn’t send him back, would they? They seemed fine with his being there. “I told you, I want to go back. I liked things there.” 

“You really think you get a choice in this?” Harry grabbed his hair, forcing his head back. Gil swallowed as the hook was pressed against his throat. “No Gil. We keep you, or we kill you. You’re ours until you die.” Harry stroked the tip of the hook over Gil’s skin.

“It’s for your own good.” 

… 

Chad was never good at waiting. But the others made it clear that they wouldn’t be going to the Isle until dark, to cover their tracks. So he had to let Evie dress him up in some version of Isle acceptable clothing. He felt ridiculous, but didn’t complain. Okay, maybe he complained a little bit. Evie ignored him though.

Then they went to Lonni’s room, where she pulled an astonishing amount of swords out of a false wall in her closet. “Here you go,” she said, handing him one. “I thought you’d like that one, it’s close to the weight of the sword you use in practice.” 

“Thanks,” he said, holding it out in front of him, trying to get a feel for it. Then Carlos grabbed his other arm. Chad looked over, and he was holding a bag out. “Oh yeah. Wouldn’t be good to just walk around the school with it.”

“Right,” Carlos said. Carlos looked annoyed. Jay did too, but he was still hungover. But Carlos had no reason to be pissy, far as he knew.  
“You don’t want to help me, do you?” He might as well know now, if he couldn’t depend on Carlos if it came to battle. “You can stay back, if you want.” 

“You get on every nerve I have,” Carlos said, staring a hole through him. “But at the same time, I want Gil back too. So I’m going to do this, but get this straight: It’s not really for you.” Carlos got a sword from someone else. “And anyway, I’m not letting Jay do this without me.” 

Chad looked at Jay, then back at Carlos. He just barely kept himself from asking about their relationship. In retrospect, it was obvious. So he just nodded. Carlos watched him, and when Chad didn’t say anything, he turned away. 

“Gotta admit.” Chad turned around to see Jay, staring at him with bleary eyes. “Gil has had a good influence on you. And vice versa” Jay sighed. “I wish I hadn’t gotten so drunk last night. Now I have to fight Harry again, and he’s better than me. He’ll wipe the floor with me for sure.”

“I won’t let that happen.” Chad wondered why he sounded so confident. Well, he had been trained to fake it even if he didn’t feel it. “And it might not come to that, anyway. Maybe they’ll give him back.” Jay just shook his head, then clapped him on the shoulder.

“Trust me, they won’t.”

…

Gil was left alone for a while after Harry left. It was dark in the bottom part of the ship, and he couldn’t move. “Please,” he whimpered. “I need to pee.” There was nothing for a while, then Uma came down the stairs. 

“Gil?” She came over to him, and stroked his face. It was a tender gesture, but the look on her face was pure steel. “You need to piss?” He nodded. 

Uma undid some of the ropes, and let him to a bucket. He never used to care if someone saw him urinating, but now he could tell his face was hot. It didn’t help that his hands were still tied, and Uma was holding his dick for him. “I’m surprised this bothers you, with everything I’ve seen you do,” Uma said. She tucked him back in his pants, then let him to a chair, getting another one. She sat across from him. 

“Meet my eyes, Gil.” Gil didn’t. She grabbed his chin. “Gil, that’s an order. Look at me.” He looked up, straight into her face. Uma always had a terrible beauty, and he realized he missed it. 

“Let’s try to talk about this,” she said. “You still want to go back to your Prince, don’t you?” Gil nodded, trying to keep his eyes on her face. “Why?”

Gil swallowed. “He loves me,” he said. “He treats me good. He makes me feel special.” 

Uma shook his head. “See….I don’t think so,” she said. “We’ve been sending scouts to check up on you. I know he’s only with you behind closed doors. I know he doesn’t claim you in public. And when he has to get married for his throne, you’ll be on the side. If you’re lucky, he’ll invite you to the wedding. But I doubt it.” 

Gil was silent. “How’d you get past the barrier anyway?” He was changing the subject, which Uma never liked, but he wanted to know.

She sighed, disappointed at his obvious attempt. “Barrier’s not what it used to be,” she said. “It’s weakening. And I sent my best divers to get under when they open it when I can. But that’s not the point. The point is, I’m not giving you back. And I will never, ever, give you back to that preening fop of a Prince. He doesn’t deserve you.” 

Uma came in closer, and soon her lips were on his. Gil tried not to kiss back, at first. But then she bit lightly at his lip, and he opened to it. 

He felt a flood of guilt, for kissing her, but at the same time, it was familiar. Maybe she was right, this was the life he was supposed to have.

…

Finally, it was starting to get dark. He was ready, so ready, to go get his boyfriend back. They had all packed up and were ready to go.

Then he got a message. He stared at it for a few seconds. “Oh. Fuck.”

“What’s wrong? Mal looked over his shoulder. “Oh fuck is right. Everyone? We have to clear out. Chad’s parents are headed this way.” Lonnie hoisted up the weapons, and they all got out of there. Mal put a hand on his shoulder. “Good luck, we’ll be waiting.” Then she was gone. Shit. Could he do this by himself? He didn’t know.

Then his mom and dad were in front of him. “Chad,” his mom said, voice brittle. “It’s good to see you.” She looked him up and down, and Chad knew that she wanted to say something about the skinny jeans and beanie he was wearing.

Chad looked at her. She was angry, even though she always hid it behind a smile. “Somehow I doubt that. You saw the picture, didn’t you?” That made the smile drop off. “Mom, I don’t want to talk about this now.”

“Too bad.” His dad was more open about his anger. “I can’t believe you got caught on camera. It’s going to be even harder to get you married off than it already was.”

Chad had to blink at that. “Wow. Glad to know you share the opinion of most of the people here. If I’m such a jerk, what does it matter if I have a male pirate lover? At least someone likes me.” Chad took a deep breath. “And I said, I don’t want to talk about this now. I have something I need to do.” He tried to push past them.

“Chad!” His mother had a strong grip, a leftover from having been forced to do domestic labor. “We love you, we just want you to think about the future! You have to get married, and it’s going to be harder if you’re so...open.” Chad looked at her, glaring. She let go with a little gasp.

“I love you too,” Chad said. “And that picture wasn’t taken with my permission.”

“There you go,” his dad said. “We can clear this up-”

“But I won’t deny Gil,” he continued. “I love him. And now...there’s a problem. I have to leave right now and get him back. So yeah, we can talk about this later. I have to go.” He ducked past his father’s arm and headed down the hall. 

His dad followed him, shouting, and stopped when he saw Chad with a whole bunch of VK and AK’s in the hallway. Mal stepped in front. “Sorry, but we’re leaving,” she said. “You probably don’t want to know what we’re up to, so I suggest you leave while you have plausible deniability.”

“Did you just talk back to us?” Cinderella looked shocked, and Chad was inwardly cheering. Nobody talked to his mom like that. He liked Mal a lot right then.

“I do that a lot,” she said. “But yeah, why don’t you two come back in a few days. I’m sure Chad will have a lot to talk about by then. Goodbye.” And then she just strode right past them, the rest of them following. Chad could hear Ben saying something to placate his parents, but he didn’t turn around. 

“Thank you Mal. You’re amazing.” Chad followed her out of the dorms and down to the limo.

“Thanks. But maybe we should wait until we get Gil back to congratulate each other. If I fuck this up, you might not like me as much.” 

Chad didn’t say anything else as they got inside the limo. He didn’t want to think about what would happen if they failed. 

…

Gil felt night come, even though he didn’t see it. The bottom of the ship was somehow even darker now. He wasn’t alone, Uma was with him, sharpening her sword as she let Gil rest on the bed again. Gil had been crying off and on, and Uma was ignoring it. 

Then she suddenly spoke up. “Gil.” He looked at her. “Stop crying over him. It’s best you get over this now, before he breaks your heart with an arranged marriage or worse. He can’t love you, not the way you deserve. And maybe, what you had with me and Harry isn’t perfect, but at least we care about the real you. Do you understand?” 

Gil didn’t say anything. He thought about Uma’s kiss, and how mad Chad would be if he knew he’d kissed back. About how Chad’s parents seemed to barely tolerate him as it was, no matter what having a pirate around would do. Maybe it would be best, to cut this off right now. It couldn’t last.

“I’m still gonna miss him,” he said, right as Harry bounded down the stairs.

“Uma, we have visitors.” 

…

Chad let Mal lead them to the ship, since he didn’t know where it was. They had managed to slip through by staying in a tight group. When they gathered on the pier, there was only one pirate at first. Mal whistled at him.

“Harry,” she said, sneering at him. “Go get your captain, and bring Gil. We’re here to collect him.” 

“Like hell you are, lovely. But I’ll get them.” Then he winked at her and disappeared below deck. 

“So that’s Harry” Chad said. He was even prettier than the pictures Gil drew. “Not as tall as I expected.” 

“He’s larger than life,” Evie said from behind him. He looked back and saw her with her sword drawn. In fact, everyone seemed ready to go right then, so he got his and tried to look like he knew what he was doing.

There was a tense few minutes, then Uma emerged, looking regal and unbothered. She was dragging a tied up Gil behind her, and Mal elbowed him. He realized that he’d cried out, and stumbled a few steps forward. He quickly backed up. “Uma,” Mal said. “We’re here to get Gil back.” 

“Well, I’m not giving him to you,” Uma said.“You don’t get to tell me what to do with what’s mine. If I say Gil stays here with us, then that’s where he’ll be. He doesn’t need any of you. Especially not him.” She pointed at Chad. Chad blinked hard, trying not to cry. 

He looked at Gil’s face then. It was blotchy, like he’d been crying too, but also...blank. Gil was trying not to look at him. It didn’t help that Harry was now behind Gil, and holding his hook to Gil’s neck. Chad bit his lip, trying not to cry out again. He had to trust Mal.

“Where’s your crew? Did you give them a day at the fair?” Okay, maybe Mal enjoyed riling Uma up too much. Maybe he should say something.

“Gil!” Chad stayed where he was, didn’t step in front of Mal, but he tried to get Gil’s attention. “I just want to bring you back home. Tell me you want to come home.” Gil looked at him for a second, then dropped his eyes. Chad could see he was terrified. 

“Idiot. This ship is his home.” Uma swaggered closer so she was standing in front of Mal, but looked at Chad. “You really think he wants to go back to you? I know you two fought last night, my spies saw Gil leave angry. You don’t know what’s best for him. I’ve know Gil since we were kids.”

“Well,” Chad tried to puff himself up. “Why don’t you let Gil tell me himself then.” He looked back up at Gil, who still looked scared. “Gil. Do you want to come back with me? I’m sorry for everything. I talked to my parents, I’m not hiding from them anymore. Please, just come back.” Chad held an arm out. 

Gil looked him in the eyes. Chad watched as Gil blinked, and then tried to harden himself. “I can’t. I can’t be what you want, it can’t work. I should just stay here. Uma’s right, better to get over it now than you hurt me later.” 

“Uma said that?” He new Uma was right in front of him, and he kept his sword up. But he was still looking at Gil. “Come on Gil. You have to decide this one yourself. I promise I’ll do better, but this needs to be your decision. Not Uma’s, and not mine.” Gil looked confused. “You don’t need a leader anymore,” Chad said. 

“Gil doesn’t make decisions,” Uma said, and she raised her sword. Chad and Mal moved at the same time to block it, and they all had their blades hit at once. “It’s not Gil’s job to make decisions, I take care of that for him! And you’re not getting him back!” Uma went for another hit, concentrating on Mal this time.

Then all hell broke loose. There was the sound of clanging everywhere as his side fought Uma or Harry, while poor Gil was tied up and yelling for everyone to stop swinging so close to him. Chad was in over his head with Uma, but he heard a shout from Harry and saw Carlos and Ben grab Gil and carry him, running for the pipe that lead to the limo. Gil called out, a little scared cry that echoed through the pipe. 

“No! You’re not taking him!” Uma swung her sword hard as she could, and knocked Chad’s out of his hand. Then there was a sword to his throat, and Mal holding hers to Uma’s throat. Uma didn’t even flinch. Chad did his best to stay still. “I need my pirate back, Mal. I won’t stop trying to get him.”

“No, you will,” Mal said. “But I’ll make you a promise. If Gil decides he wants to come back, of his own free will, I won’t stop him.” Chad looked over, and saw that Evie, Jay and Lonnie had disarmed Harry and were holding him at sword point. Chad swallowed and put his eyes back on Uma. 

“Uma,” he said. “You’ve got good reason to doubt me.” She stared at him, no expression. “But I swear I don’t mean Gil any harm. I love him. I know you don’t say that here, but I do. And Mal is right, if he wants to come back, I’ll accept it. It’ll break my heart, but I will. Please. Just give me a chance.”

Uma kept staring at him. “Just know, I can find a way around that barrier. And if you fuck Gil up at all, I’ll know it. And I owe you nothing. But...” Just then, her face softened. “Gil cried over you all day. He said he would miss you. So, I’m only doing this for him.” Then she slowly lowered her sword.

Chad took a deep breath. He heard an affronted noise from Harry. “That’s it? We’re giving up on Gil?” Harry had no sword, no hook, both taken from him, and he was surrounded. “Captain. I’m not questioning your authority, but...”

“Harry, leave it.” She glared at him as she backed up, Mal’s sword moving from her neck. “He’ll be back in a week. You wait and see. This idiot won’t be able to keep him. He doesn’t understand Gil like we do.” Then she walked away. Chad looked at Mal.

“Do you think that’s true?” He said in a low voice. Mal just grabbed his hand.

“Run now, talk later.” 

…

When they piled into the limo, Gil was sitting there, face pale. Carlos and Ben had untied him, and he was sitting motionless. Chad figured he wasn’t ready to be touched yet, so he just sat by him. As they drove across the barrier, he started speaking softly.

“Gil. Uma let you go.” Gil closed his eyes. “On the condition that if you want to go back, you can. And I’ll let you go, if that’s what you want.” Gil opened his eyes and stared at him. “But make no mistake, I love you. I want to keep you. But if it isn’t enough, I won’t stop you.”

Everyone else in the limo was quiet. “You won’t want me back,” Gil said, voice shaking. “You won’t forgive me.” 

Chad looked at him, and at the others. They were watching. Jay and Carlos behind them, Carlos leaning on Jay’s shoulder. “Whatever it is,” Chad said. “I already forgive you. I know what you went through was hard. And you can tell me when we get to our room. But don’t worry, I love you.” 

Gil looked at him, disbelieving, and then put his head in his hands. Evie started making soothing noises, and Ben tried to talk to him. But he sat like that until they got back. 

…

Chad’s parents were still there. When they saw Chad, sweaty and dirty with Gil next to him, they started shouting. Chad decided it would be time to do his best Mal impression and just walk right by them, taking Gil to their shared room and locking the door. His dad banged on the door for a few minutes, then gave up.

When he was sure they were gone, Chad got Gil the soda pop he liked best, in a glass with ice. Gil loved ice. He sat it on the nightstand as Chad sat on the bed. “You can tell me, when you’re ready,” Chad said. 

Gil sighed, and rubbed his face. Then he took a sip of his soda. “They knocked me out,” he said. “I still don’t know who it was. I’m sure it wasn’t Uma.” Chat sat down on the opposite bed and waited. “They told me they needed me back, and I belonged to them. And...that’s what she thinks.”

“You told me. And Mal told me Uma was very protective.” Gil nodded. “They tied you up.”

“Yeah. I was in my old bunk. Everyone else was gone. I don’t know why.” Gil sniffled. “I told them I wanted to go back. Harry threatened me.” 

“Is that why you’re so scared?” Gil shook his head. “Then what is it?”

“Because you’ll be mad. Because of what I did.” 

Chad remained calm. He had a general idea of what happened. Maybe Harry molested him. Maybe Uma did. He knew they used him like a toy sometimes. “What happened, Gil? Remember, I already forgave you if you did something.”

“Uma kissed me. I kissed back, after a minute.” 

Chad was silent for a minute. He could see it. “Honestly, I expected worse,” he said. “Can I sit next to you now? Can I hug you?” Gil looked amazed, and still scared, but he nodded. Chad moved slowly so not to startle Gil, and sat close to him. Gil’s drink was shaking in his hand, so Chad took it and carefully sat it on the nightstand. Then he moved so he had an arm around Gil, stroking his arm.

“They told me it would never work,” Gil said. “That you’d marry and maybe you’d invite me to the wedding, maybe not. They told me you couldn’t love me. But...I think you do. Did you do that earlier? What you did now?”

Chad had to think. “Stood up to my parents?” 

“Yeah.” 

“I did. I tried to talk to them at first.” Chad played with Gil’s hair. “But it was the same thing. You know, appearances, trying to get me married off. So I decided I didn’t have anything to say to them yet.” 

“I’m glad,” Gil said. “I don’t like how they treat you. They might be good, but they’re not nice.” Gil was quiet for a minute. “You’re not going to tell me I’m wrong?”

Chad moved so he could see Gil better, facing him. “No,” he said. “I’ve tried really hard to be like them, but it’s never been enough. Kind of like you and Gaston, from what I’ve heard.”

“He’s always liked my twin brothers better,” Gil said. “They’re exactly like him.” Gil then pulled him in for a hug. Chad let out a deep breath, Gil was finally showing affection back. “You’re really not mad?” 

“I’m not.” Chad kissed Gil’s cheek. Gil smiled at that, looking down bashfully. “I’m just so glad to have you back. And I’m sorry that Harry threatened you and Uma tried to turn you back to them. But, I know in her own way, she cares.”

“She does,” Gil said. “I know she really missed me, even though she’d never say it.” Gil turned his head then, and kissed Chad on the mouth. Chad cupped Gil’s jaw and held him there as they kissed. Then Gil pulled back, still close. “You said you were sorry. About the fight.” Chad nodded. “Maybe I took that...” There was a pause while Gil thought of the right words. “The wrong way?” 

“You had good points. You were right about most of it. I just didn’t want us to fight drunk. But I wasn’t doing you right, and I was stringing Audrey along. I hope she forgives me some day, but I don’t want to date her again. And I’m sorry that me trying to hide us hurt you.” 

“It’s okay. I wanted people to know, and then they did, but it was an accident.” Gil came in for another kiss. When he pulled back, he smiled at Chad. “I can’t believe you got everyone to come get me.”

“I’m gonna be doing favors for Mal for a long time now,” Chad said, and they both laughed. Chad played with Gil’s sweaty hair, combing it through his fingers. “Hey Gil,” he said. “Do you want to take a shower?” 

“With you?” Gil beamed. “Yeah. I’ll start the water.” He scampered to the bathroom, and Chad started taking his dirty clothes off. 

When they were kissing under the spray, Chad ran his hands down Gil’s body. “I love you,” he said. “I don’t even care what happens tomorrow.” 

“You probably shouldn’t say that,” Gil said, and he kissed down Chad’s neck. Chad’s eyes fluttered shut. “A lot of things could happen.” 

“I know. But right now? Not important.” Gil giggled against Chad’s neck, and Chad wished they could stay in the shower forever. Block out the rest of the world. Then Gil bit gently over his pulse, and Chad forgot all about it.


End file.
